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ChainguardChainguardUnited States

Lead Counsel, Commercial

Lead and manage the US commercial legal team while personally negotiating and closing complex enterprise SaaS, MSA, and partner agreements. Requires 10+ years commercial legal experience (sell-side in-house), current people management of 2+ attorneys, JD/active bar, open source licensing knowledge, and privacy law familiarity.

221k – 260k
Remote10+ YOELegal

About the role

What You'll Do

  • Lead, manage, and develop a team of US-based commercial legal professionals
  • Own the overall health, output, and velocity of the US commercial legal function, ensuring the team is well-resourced, well-coordinated, and operating at a high level
  • Serve as a hands-on commercial attorney, personally managing a portfolio of complex enterprise deals from negotiation through close
  • Draft, review, and negotiate the full range of commercial agreements — SaaS agreements, enterprise customer agreements, MSAs, order forms, DPAs, NDAs, and partner and channel agreements — including on complex customer paper
  • Partner with the global Director of Commercial Legal to align the US team's practices, playbooks, and priorities with the broader commercial legal strategy
  • Build and iterate on commercial playbooks, escalation frameworks, and template libraries tailored to the US market
  • Create and maintain self-serve resources that empower Sales, Customer Success, and other go-to-market teams to move faster with less legal friction
  • Negotiate directly with sophisticated customer counsel, including those at financial services, insurance, healthcare, defense, and pharmaceutical organizations
  • Ensure commercial agreements align with open source licensing requirements and industry best practices
  • Maintain familiarity with applicable US federal and state privacy laws (including CCPA/CPRA, state data breach notification requirements, and sector-specific frameworks) as they relate to commercial contracting
  • Partner closely with Product and Security, and other cross-functional teams to align legal guidance with business and technical objectives
  • Provide practical, risk-calibrated guidance to senior leadership and go-to-market stakeholders consistent with company policies and risk tolerance
  • Own US quarter-end and month-end closing cycles, ensuring the team has what it needs to get deals across the line on time

What We're Looking For

  • Juris Doctor (JD) or equivalent legal qualification with active bar or solicitor membership in good standing
  • 10+ years of commercial legal experience, ideally combining law firm and in-house technology company experience
  • Currently sitting in an in-house, sell-side commercial legal role
  • Currently managing a team of at least two legal professionals, with a track record of developing and retaining strong legal talent
  • Demonstrated ability to independently manage a full commercial deal cycle from negotiation through close, including complex enterprise transactions on customer paper
  • Strong communication skills, with the ability to distill complex legal and business issues into clear, actionable guidance for sales leaders and senior stakeholders
  • Working knowledge of open source licensing and compliance considerations
  • Proven ability to balance legal risk with business objectives while maintaining deal velocity
  • Experience in cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure, or related technology sectors strongly preferred
  • Comfort leading a team through pressure, particularly during month-end and quarter-end closing periods

Nice-to-Haves

  • Familiarity with US federal and state privacy and data security frameworks
  • Experience negotiating with highly regulated customers across industries such as financial services, healthcare, defense, and insurance

Skills

Commercial ContractingOpen Source LicensingPrivacy LawData SecuritySaas AgreementsMsasNdasDpasTeam ManagementNegotiationLegal Playbooks

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